From Sea to Clouds in Ecuador
M onkineyer
High School Girls of Ancient Quito Go in for Modern Sports
With the coming of the railroad and air lines the city, one of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere, has
emerged from its age-long isolation (pages 725-6). Up-to-date methods of education are eagerly accepted,
and young ladies once sequestered may now enjoy athletics.
process increases their flexibility and evens
out the weave.
Those shipped to the United States usually
undergo further chemical bleaching after they
reach their destination, but those which go to
Europe are sold as they come from Ecuador.
"How long does it take to weave a hat?"
I inquired.
"About a week for an ordinary one," my
informant replied.
"With the fine ones it
takes longer, often several months.
"If you want a good hat," he advised me,
"decide first what you are willing to pay;
then pick out one in a reputable shop. Be sure
to pick one of uniform weave and color."
Yes, I bought one.
Lightest Commercial Wood in the World
From panama hats I turned to the balsa
lumber trade. An incredible wood this. When
timbers tumble down on a movie star's head,
a clown lifts seemingly impossible weights,
or a guard throws a life preserver to a drown
ing person, the chances are that timbers,
"weights," and preserver are all of balsa, the
lightest wood used in commerce today. Ecua
dor is the chief producer.
In a sawmill I watched a 15-year-old lad
pick up 114 board feet of balsa and walk
gaily off with it. Had it been newly sawn
oak, the load would have weighed 600 pounds!
A cubic foot of balsa weighs only seven or
eight pounds, half as much as a piece of cork
of the same dimensions. Its lightness, resi
liency, and insulation properties afford an
amazing number of uses.
In refrigerators, storage containers, and
incubators it forms effective insulation. Rooms
and airplane cabins are rendered quieter by
layers of it in the walls. Floats, life pre
servers, decoy ducks, hat blocks, scale models,
toy airplanes, stage novelties, and shock
absorbing packing for pianos and fine furni
ture are fashioned from this buoyant wood.
Its uses are legion (page 736).
The jungles of the Quevedo region are the
principal source of the Ecuadorian supply.
In addition to the wild forest growth, balsa is
also being grown as a plantation product.
Of large cellular structure, it grows rapidly.
In eight or ten years many trees reach a
diameter of 25 or 30 inches.
As soon as the trees are cut, the logs are
hauled by oxen to the rivers for floating down
to Guayaquil or Esmeraldas. All along the
river may be seen large balsa rafts on the way
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